5 stages of creating and "animating" a 3D character

 We all know how important 3D computer graphics are in the media industry today. Cinema projects, animation videos and computer games make full use of the possibilities of 3D design.

Most often, the role of 3D characters is assigned to people, all kinds of creatures, representatives of flora and fauna, robots, and sometimes inanimate objects - electronic devices, household appliances and even furniture.

Agree, the possibilities of modern 3D graphics and animation are amazing! However, before an animator can breathe life into characters, they will need to be imagined and rendered on paper and as a computer model.

Stage 1: Concept (creating an idea and implementing it in sketches

Where do you think it all starts?

Correctly. The foundation of any great achievement is an 3d character concept And here the quality of sketches is not important, only their availability is important. A sketch of a 3D character is an indicative plan, thanks to which you save yourself a waste of time and energy. Having a sketch makes it easier to understand how the 3D characters of the games will look and to see the chain of actions required to translate them into practice.

Stage 2: Modeling (creating 3D objects)

What technologies are used in 3D character modeling? As with most 3D graphics programs, polygons and NURBS are preferred here. At the same time, polygonal modeling began to be used more often. The quality and clarity of rendering of 3D characters is affected by the number of polygons: the more, the better. It is customary to select low poly (low poly) and high poly (high poly) varieties.

In character modeling for the film industry, high-poly models are preferable, that is, with a large number of polygons for optimal detail. However, their rendering can sometimes take several days. But for games, low-poly models are used, since the rendering of 3D characters is carried out directly during the gameplay.

Stage 3: Texturing (applying textures and materials to the 3D model)

When texturing, the 3D modeler chooses materials and colors for the model. Experts agree that this process is an act of true art. In cinematography, this task is assigned to a separate expert - the texture artist. However, when creating a 3D character, there is a need for preliminary preparation of UV-unfolding (texture unfolding).

What it is? In fact, we are talking about a 2D image that contains the surface of the 3D model of the characters. This unwrapping is essential for perfect and error-free texture mapping on the model.

At the next stage, textures are drawn with their subsequent binding to models of 3D characters. Modelers prepare a complete set of textures, including:

• bump map;
• bump map (displacement);
• transparency map (alpha);
• normal map;
• specular map;
• Colour.

The result is the creation of a ready-made image of a 3D character, where there is everything from detailed hair on the head to clearly drawn wrinkles on the face. And this is only half the battle, the further is more interesting!

Stage 4: Rigging (creation of a virtual "skeleton", a set of "bones" / "joints" for subsequent character animation)

Have you heard about skeletal animation? Most likely, you have at least a rough idea of ​​what it is. This is a technology for computer animation of 3D characters, where objects are depicted in two versions: a surface representation (mesh / skin) when creating a 3D character, which is used to draw a symbol, and a hierarchical collection of interconnected bones (rig / skeleton). The latter is used to animate (keyframe and pose) the mesh.

If you want to create 3D characters with more general features than a humanoid character, it is not necessary for the set of bones to be interconnected or hierarchical. It will be a higher description of the level of skin movement.

Stage 5: Animation (animating the character)

3D character animation is extremely important, isn't it? After all, without it, your hero will not move and change shape. How is all this possible? In essence, animation is a quick display of a chain of static images that differ in insignificant details. It goes without saying that the main goal at this stage is to achieve the most realistic movement of the 3D characters. This is of paramount importance in cinematography, as often in films the 3D hero must interact with the real actors.

This is where Keyframes comes to the rescue - animating 3D characters using key frames. You probably understood what it was about by the name. Here the designer must indicate the position of the 3D character in the first and last frames of movement, and the calculation of the remaining frames is entrusted to a special program. In practice, this technology looks simple, but when you need to create complex movements and achieve realistic 3D characters, you have to break your head.

We have briefly covered the key stages of developing 3D characters and their animation models. Of course, it is impossible to fully cover this topic in a short review.

Remember one simple thought: all the 3D characters you meet in games and movies have been created over the years by teams of top-notch professionals. To succeed in this direction requires a lot of study, exercise and heeding the advice of experts.